Chapter 7: An Awkward Attraction
In Amity Park, it was late and Tucker decided to close up.
After setting the ghost shield and the burglar alarm, he stood proud of a job well done.
"I'll clean up the popcorn and pizza boxes tomorrow." He said.
As he stepped down, he noticed an African American man in khakis with a white undershirt and purple button-up shirt walking towards him. He also wore sunglasses.
"Hey, young man. You know the Fentons?" He asks.
"Sure do, their son's my best friend." Tucker went.
"Ah. Well see, I've been having some ghost problems. So, I was wonderin' if you know where they are and when they'd be back?" He asks.
"Uh… how'd you know they were gone?" Tucker asks.
"I noticed their big old van ain't here." He said.
"Oh… well… they're in Ontario for the weekend." Tucker answered.
"California?" The man asks.
"No, Canada." Tucker went. "They should be back… Monday or Tuesday."
"Gotcha… thanks." He said before walking off.
Tucker nodded.
"Now… to grab something at Nasty Burger before curfew." He said before putting on his helmet and taking out his motorized scooter before leaving.
Once Tucker left, the man noticed Tucker left and went from walking casually to being more up straight.
A long black limousine drove by, picking him up. Once inside, he was met by a man of apparent Asian descent wearing sunglasses with dark clothes and another man in the shadows, one much thinner.
"Well?" The thinner one asked, having a deep voice.
"First off, you can tell the boys at Dulce this idea would have worked better if I didn't wear the shades. It's dark, after all." He spoke.
"I meant about the boy, where is Danny Phantom?" He asked, sounding more irritated.
"His loudmouthed friend said Ontario, up in Canada." He explained as he took off the purple and put on a dark coat.
"Canada? What would he want up there?" The Asian man asked.
"We did a search… there were unusual weather patterns going on in that specific area." The thin man said.
"I heard…" The man changing his clothes spoke. "I think it started…" He put on a tie. "... sometime after the Disasteroid".
"Outside of the usual UFO hotspots, hauntings, cryptid encounters and Ultraterrestrial sightings, nothing that needs us has occurred." The Asian man went.
"Well… do you think he's after something?" The black man asks.
"Our studies suggest the bizarre weather anomaly is connected to recent sightings and encounters with the Windigo, also pronounced Wendigo by those not of Algonquin descent." The thin man said.
"That thing has nothing in its possession he would want. Why would he be after it?" The Asian man asks.
"Perhaps… this was just someone who mistook the creature for a ghost asking for help. Odd they would ask them for help, but it seems to have not been a Disaster Denier." The Thin man said.
"Yeah… as annoying as it was, we had to make sure people stayed quiet. I'm just glad 90% were doing it out of gratitude. Spreading that idea and having those statues taken down was necessary…" The black man said.
"So… if Danny Phantom is there for his usual reasons, what now?" The Asian man said.
"We must get in touch and let them know…" The Thin man said.
"But first… can we stop at the Nasty Burger? I had it for lunch the other day and wanted to get it again before we leave." The black man said. He noticed the thin man staring at him despite the fact that he was in the dark. "Oh, come on. You're as slim as paper. I know that's your thing but you can stand to eat."
"Fine… get me a double, with fries, and a chocolate shake." The Thin man said.
"Raw or grilled onions?" The black man asks with a smile.
"Grilled…"
In Canada, a small battle raged.
Danny ducked away from a guitar being swung to hit him in the head.
"Wow, you looked less hostile when you were only interested in killing me." He commented.
"SHUT UP!" She screamed at him.
''And less crazy too..." He muttered.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" She screamed again
Ember cried out angrily as she swung her guitar downward like an ax.
Danny managed to catch it in time.
Danny and Ember fight, with both casually admitting some level of attraction to the other, which distracts them:
"For someone so hot, you're ice cold..." Danny remarked.
Ember stopped.
"Wait, did you say that I'm-"
Danny took advantage and blasted her.
"Gotcha!" Danny went.
Ember slid in the snow, her fiery ponytail melting it as she got up.
"Oh, come on!" She complained.
Before she could attack him, Danny kneed her in the face, making her fall back.
"I can't imagine doing this with Paulina…" He muttered.
Ember wiped her face and, to her own surprise, smiled.
"Good, good… you're not afraid to hit a girl. That makes this way more fun." She commented.
"It helps when said girl tries to bludgeon me with a guitar!" Danny points out.
"You're cute when you're bruised up!" Ember mused.
Danny stopped upon hearing that and smiled.
"Wait... you think I'm-"
He snapped out of it in time and ducked from her guitar.
"But not so cute I won't take advantage of that." She stated before kicking him in the chest.
''Should have seen that coming..." He muttered before he was too late.
Ember pressed him into a tree, smiling victoriously at him.
"I got you now…" She said.
"So… you gonna kiss me or bludgeon me?" Danny asks, trying to sound calm.
"Not sure yet…" Ember admits.
"Should have stayed inside…" He thought, unsure what will happen next.
"Now… how to kill some time?" Ember asked out loud playfully.
"I don't think we're off to a good start for a healthy relationship." Danny points out.
"What do you know about a healthy relationship?" Ember questioned angrily.
"I know basing it on hating a teenager could only get you so far." Danny states.
Ember rolled her eyes away in shame.
"True…" She admits.
''And you're probably better off with someone who doesn't spend his time trying to make a pelt out of said teenager as his life goal." Danny added.
"Again, true." Ember admits.
Danny cleared his throat.
"So… uh… if we're not gonna fight right now… what do you want to do?" Danny asks.
"Are you asking me out?" Ember asks with an amused smirk.
"What? N-ye-proba-may…be?" He asks, unsure himself.
"That's a little selfish, ain't it? Wanting to spend a little time with little ol' me that you're suddenly having the hots for while some Plain Jane is probably pining for you?" Ember comments.
Danny flinched at that.
"What? N-no! I'm not selfish… I mean, I'm not in a relationship now, so… this isn't selfish or cheating or anything? Right?" Danny asks.
"Right… you're not like that Goth, calling you selfish for getting rid of your powers to be happy." Ember comments.
Danny blinked at that.
"Wait… how do you know that?" He asks.
"A little bird told me… literally. Without those powers, a few weaker ghosts were able to get close enough to spy. They overheard what happened. It was hilarious, giving up those powers and she was just an ungrateful little punk. I'm surprised you still wanted to date her." Ember stated.
Danny's eyes squinted in anger as they glowed.
"Don't you dare make fun of that." He growled.
"Ooh… now your eyes are beautiful too. I think I do want that kiss…" She cooed.
Danny's eyes stopped glowing as he was surprised.
"Wait… for real?" He asks.
"You cheating on Jenny or whatever this other girl's name is is your problem… I got no problem with this…" Ember said.
Before her lips could reach his, something Danny subconsciously accepted as he closed his eyes, a screeching from afar was heard. This caught their attention.
Ember pulled away, letting Danny free, as she stepped back.
She could see something, two of them in fact, coming at them. They were barely visible due to the snow, but they were coming, running like lizards with their limbs sticking out of the sides.
"What the heck are those?" She asks, using a hand over her eyes to help her get a better look.
Danny saw for himself and realized what they were.
"Oh crud… more of them?" He asks.
"More of what?" Ember asks indignantly before Danny throws a disc of energy in their direction. "Whoa!" She went, surprised to see him act like this.
To his disappointment, they managed to avoid his attack, the snow kicking up and blocking view of them for a moment.
"Oh no…" Danny muttered.
''What the- Ember went, but was cut off quickly.
"We should go now." Danny said.
"Why?" Ember questioned , mad and lost.
That's when the two Wendigos jumped like frogs, landing 10 feet away from them.
"That's why." Danny stated as he pointed at them.
The two Wendigos appeared before them, both snarling. From their perspective, Ember looked disinteresting from the green they could see while Danny himself was a mix of red and green as glared at them
Upon getting a good look at the two inhuman monsters, Ember blinked before raising a brow.
"What in the name of Ozzy Osbourne is that?!" She questioned loudly.
"KRRREAAAUUGGHH!" One wendigo let out.
Ember frowned as she decided to use her guitar to attack.
"Okay, you're interrupting a private party." She said, ready to play a chord.
"No, don't!" Danny went as she struck her guitar.
One of the monsters lost an arm from her blast. Ember scoffed in victory before, to her horror and disgust, it reattached the arm as it melted on, acting as if nothing happened.
"Uh… what?" Ember asks.
The two snarled at her, now seeing her as a threat.
"Oh, wow, they can heal that way too, huh? Great… And… now they see you as the enemy." Danny said.
"Huh? What are these things? They don't look like ghosts to me." Ember questioned with an arrogant attitude.
Before she could do anything else, one of the emaciated monsters managed to run fast enough to make it to the other side, attempting to pick a fight with her as the other readied to attack Danny.
The two ghosts shared a look.
"Truce?" Danny asks.
"For now." Ember stated.
They then attacked one of the hostile Wendigos each.
Danny punched the creature in the chin, causing it to step back. However, it regained its foot and tried to claw him.
"Not that again!" He said as he narrowly avoided it.
Meanwhile, Ember prepared her own attack. She tried to blast the creature again, this time her blast taking the form of a fist, but while it made the creature's upper body break backwards, it then readjusted itself to stand straight. The sound of bones breaking made her blink in surprise.
"What's going on? Why can't I hurt these things?!" She questioned
"I don't know how they work!" Danny went as he ducked in time to avoid a claw.
Ember pulled back as one of them screeched in her face, causing her to make a face.
"Ugh! Did these things drink from the River of Revulsion?!" She asked.
The creature backhanded her, making her fall on her back.
Looking back, Danny gasped before firing a blast at it in the face, distracting it long enough for her to get up.
She looked back, surprised as Danny formed a sword construct to keep his opponent away with a swing.
"Never thought you of all people would come to save me…" She comments as she stepped back from the Wendigo facing her.
"Never thought I'd save or kiss you of all people either…" Danny commented as he narrowly avoided a swipe.
Danny and Ember were now back to back, both monsters now circling them like predatory animals.
"Uh… not looking forward to whatever these things are gonna do." Ember said.
"I don't think they'll do that much terrible stuff to you." Danny stated.
''Why?" She asked.
"Because you're a full ghost...and I'm not..." Danny said as his foe quickly avoided a blast.
"Then why are they attacking me?!" Ember questioned.
"You shot one!" Danny points out as he turns to yell at her..
Ember turned and was about to yell back, but the Wendigos both moved. One stood back while the other came in to attack both.
Both of them threw their gloved fists into the creature's chest, pushing it back. However, their pinky knuckles briefly touched.
This caused the two with a growing attraction to react and pull away.
"Uh… sorry!" Danny went.
"No no! I didn't see you." Ember stated.
"Look out!" They went in unison, seeing a Wendigo behind the other.
Both swung their hands past the others head and fired at their faces.
Danny grabbed Ember's bare arm to pull her out of the way. Ember noticed this slightly but chose to ignore it as she kicked the other one in the face with her boot, using Danny as leverage as she had both hands on his shoulder. Danny noticed this and found it hard to think for a moment.
Seeing the Wendigo shake off the hit, Danny wrapped arm around Ember's waist and fired a ghost ray in its face. Ember noticed his and her face turned red for a moment. She was distracted when the one was about to attack. She fired a beam from her hand to create a purple energy wall to block it. Her gloved hand, without thinking about it, touched Danny's.
Danny himself noticed this, distracting him.
Both of them turned to face each other, creating shields to keep the two lanky monsters from attacking. This is while the two were physically close and turning red.
"This was so much easier when I hated you and didn't think you were hot…" Danny admits.
"I know what you mean…" Ember said.
"Should we… run away?" Danny asks.
"Normally, I'd say no. But right now, I think that's a good idea." She admits.
''Me too..." He said before the two turned intangible and phased into the ground, lowering the shields in the process.
Both of them looked where the two phased through and tried digging. Both of them bumped heads and it made them snarl in anger.
The two began to fight, one pounced on the other and started clawing the other, which began biting at it in reaction.
"Stop that you idiots!" A voice only they heard made them stop. "You were supposed to hunt him! He destroyed one of you, so he has to suffer!"
The two pulled away, almost cowering at the voice.
One of them looked in the direction of the cabins, where the lights were visible from a distance. It wanted to go there, but paused once the voice spoke.
"There'll be time to get some tasty morsels later. We'll replenish as soon as we find him. I'll have him as good as dead… he has to pay for ruining things… then we can pay his cabin a visit and have a family dinner." The voice went sinisterly before snickering with ill intent.
With that, the two resumed the hunt for their prey.
Danny was breathing heavily as he leaned onto a tree, looking up into the night sky. He was tired, fighting one monster, a villain he's developed an awkward budding attraction to, and two more monsters. He was already wishing he was back in the cabin.
"I so hope snowboarding is less hazardous…" He muttered.
"Snowboarding?" Ember, who stood next to him, less tired and crossing her arms, questioned. "Why the heck would you snowboard?"
"Long story, one I'm not telling you. Partially because it's none of your business and we have two unwanted intrusions." He said, looking around.
"Yeah, about that. What the heck are those things?!" Ember asked, her arms flailing out. "They didn't look like any ghosts I've seen!"
"They're Wendigos. You're a full ghost, so you're fine. But I'm half-ghost, so I'm probably half edible to them." Danny explained as he looked around to make sure they weren't getting snuck on.
That word rang a bell for her, realizing that's what he was talking about earlier.
"Wait... did you say Wendigos? Are you serious? Those meat-eating zombie things?" Ember asks. "That's just some scary bedtime story adults tell their kids here up North to make them do what they want."
Danny turned his head, surprised.
"You've heard of them?" He asked.
"I might have come to Canada a few times to find some old tracks and CDs of Rush." Ember admits.
Danny looked rather surprised in a pleasant way before getting back on track.
"Well... they're real... they're why I'm here." He explained.
"For reals? They're not ghosts." Ember said.
"Yeah, well the guy who hired my folks thinks they are." Danny said as he took a breath.
"I see... and you being a goody goody, can't say no." Ember said as she saw him shrug.
"Well… I'm in no mood to be either a meal or stored to be food for the winter." Danny told her.
Ember rolled her eyes and leaned on a tree.
"So… what now?" She asks.
"I don't know… but you're not in danger, so you're free to go… haunt a record store or something." Danny said.
Ember shook her head.
"I meant about… us." She clarified.
She looked expectantly as Danny's face started to sweat a lot.
"Uh… us?" He asks.
"You called me hot, and you willingly kissed me before you remembered some girl you met, probably around here, even though you're not dating her. And we had our thing with those skinny creeps earlier. So, don't tell me you're not even remotely into me." She said.
Danny gulped
"Uh… w-well… I mean...yeah...I said...and did that...and maybe a little b-but...that was heat in the moment...we are still enemies. At least I think we still are. " He said, trying to smile.
Ember laughed at it.
"I can't see why some people think this is dumb, watching you somehow so into me you can't form proper words is hilarious…" She comments.
Danny frowned at her.
"Why, of all ghosts I've ever fought, did I accidentally kiss you?" He muttered.
"Because Kitty's with Johnny, who's an idiot that's not worth her time…" Ember said, rolling her eyes at who she's always with.
"You're not wrong." Danny said.
"And there's no way it'd be Desiree, Spectra or the Lunch Lady. That's a level of controversy they'd never live down. Plus, I'm more your height anyway." Ember said.
"And… you're still here because…?" Danny asks.
"Got a problem?" Ember asks.
"Yes, a few. You tried to take over the world… three times!" Danny stated.
"In the long run, not so important. Take it from someone who had to listen to someone rant about mounting your head a thousand times." Ember said.
Danny could only glare at her.
"You're insane, you know that?" He asks.
"True… but that doesn't mean I can't be fun to hang out with." Ember said before snapping her fingers. "So… wanna make out while we hide from those things?"
Danny's eyebrows raised from conveying anger to expressing confusion.
"Uh…" He said, cheeks turning red.
Ember smirked.
"Like we have something better to do. I know I don't." She states.
"Yeah… Why don't you leave? Those things can't fly and I'm guessing since this is the first time you've seen them then they can't enter the Ghost Zone." Danny wonders.
"Then who would I have a little fun with? I did come all this way for you, after all." Ember said plainly.
"But...I...we...I already told you that I'm kinda...trying to see someone…" He tried.
"And I already told you that I don't care..." Ember said as she strutted forward to him.
Danny crawled back, leaning on a tree, trapping him.
"I'm not so sure I said yes..." He whispered.
"I didn't ask." Ember said as she reached out for him.
Danny gulped. If he yells or makes any noises, those Wendigos might show up and attack.
"I'm not sure this is such a good idea." Danny said.
"Why? Because of your new normal girl? Or those two?" Ember asks as she leans into him.
Why he didn't phase through the tree didn't occur to him, probably because on some level he doesn't want her to stop.
"Both… but I don't think I wanna see those things again anymore." He admits, trying his best to ignore the feel of her hands on his shoulders and one leg touching his.
"It would be a darn shame if those things got you after all the effort I went through before and after what happened…" Ember said with a seductive tone.
At that moment, with Danny's guard dropped, she closed the gap and landed her lips on his.
Danny only stared wide-eyed as she kissed him, she closed her eyes so he couldn't see what she might have been thinking.
In a moment, he let himself melt into it, closing his eyes and kissing her back.
Neither of them noticed it, but Ember's ponytail grew a bit. They also didn't realize how bright it was, getting the attention of two creatures that were hunting for Danny.
After a few seconds, Ember pulled away, her hair returning to normal before they opened their eyes.
"And you wouldn't nearly be as cute with your face gnawed off…" She tells him.
Danny blushed, wondering if he's dreaming or not..
He couldn't believe he was here with Ember McLain of all girls or ghosts. And to make it stranger, even knowing what she can do, what she's capable of and how little she likely regrets it, he found himself drawn to her.
Whether it's some kind of ghostly magnetism between them or genuinely desire for romance, even from her, he didn't know.
All he knew is he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her.
Ember happily returned it, wrapping her arms around his neck.
That's when the sounds of screeching were heard, causing the two to pull away from each other and groan.
"Really? Now?! The one time I want Ember around?!" Danny asks angrily.
"Guess they must think this is a romantic picnic or something…" Ember said as she got angrier and readied her guitar.
The two Wendigos were running towards them, making the same inhuman screeches as they honed in on the two ghosts.
Danny fired one concentrated blast while Ember fired from her guitar. They managed to hit the two, making them roll backwards as their arms contorted in painful ways. However, both of them got back up, arms readjusting with the sound of bones breaking.
"Seriously?" The ghost boy complained.
"Ideas, Danny?" Ember asks.
"Last one I destroyed, I used up most of my power in the blast, but there's two of them now and I don't think they'll sit still." He said as the both of them surrounded the two ghosts.
"So, make them sit down?" Ember questioned.
Danny looked around and saw one of them reaching for her.
"Ember, look out!" He called out to her.
Ember was about to turn around, but Danny grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her.
This sudden motion caused her ponytail to swing behind, touching the Wendigo's claw.
Once Ember was pulled aside, she pulled her wrist out. She was ready to argue as Danny noticed it.
"I could handle it, Dipstick! I ain't no damsel in di-"
"Wait… look!" He said, pointing.
Ember saw it as well. The Wendigo that touched her hair hissed in pain, clutching the claw and actually hurt for once.
Danny blinked in confusion, he hadn't once seen these things hurt, but now it looked like it was wounded badly.
"What the heck?" He asks.
"Duh!" Ember went, recalling. "Creatures of winter! They don't like heat! My hair must be too hot to handle." She said with a smile.
Danny turned his head and blinked in surprise.
"Wait… that's not just for show? That's actual fire?" He asks.
"Duh… I tried to burn you with it once. Remember." Ember went.
"I thought you were just starting a fire with it being so hot." Danny said before an idea came to him. "I think I know how to handle these things. I need your help."
"What's in it for me?" Ember asks.
"You get to hurt these things for trying to do...whatever they want to do to you since I don't think they'll eat you." He answered.
Ember smiled.
"Works for me."
''Good… let's go." Danny said.
The creatures snarled at them.
They both tried to take them, but Ember struck her guitar and made a wave of energy to push the two back.
"Do whatever your idea is!" She said as he flew away from the two Wendigos.
"I'm gonna make a wall blocking off the entire area here so it doesn't spread!" Danny said as he fired from his eyes to create a tall wall that started circling them.
"What do I do?" Ember asks.
"Keep 'em busy!" He said.
Before she could say anything, one of them managed to get back up and backhand her with enough force to hit a tree and fall to the ground..
Ember pushed herself off the ground, glaring at the beasts for hitting her.
"Keep 'em busy, he says. It was so much easier to just laugh and walk away before that stupid kiss…" She mutters.
Danny continued blasting, the wall now halfway done.
Meanwhile, Ember swung a guitar, but it was caught in the mouth of one Wendigo biting down. Not wanting to deal with that again, she kicked it in the face, making it let go.
Once it did, she swung it to clear the gross, green drool-like substance from the monster's mouth. She made a gagging sound before she struck her guitar again, firing a sonic wave that pushed the two away.
Once she did that, she grinned as she set her guitar to full power and struck again.
It fired a wave of energy that seemed to cut the two in half.
She gasped, as she used up a good amount of her power for that, only for the two to still snarl. Ember only grimaced as the two literally pulled themselves back together.
"Anytime now, Baby Pop!" She called out.
"And…" Danny's eyes stopped firing. "Done!"
He managed to create the ice wall surrounding her and the two that were reforming. Ember blinked at his creation as she rose up to join him.
"Uh… now what?" Ember asks.
"Now…" Danny creates a green fireball in his hand. "... we heat things up!"
"With that puny firework? Lemme show you how a lady gets things done!" She said as her hair grew.
The two then fired at the same time.
The trees surrounding the Wendigos caught fire, causing the two to panic, trying to escape.
One of them was about to try and scale the wall, but the other pulled it back, causing it to fall. It tried to climb, but Danny descended and kicked it in the face.
"No ya don't!" He said, sending it falling backwards into one of the burning trees.
Upon hitting the fire, the creature cried out in pain as it lashed out, trying to claw its way out. The other Wendigo failed to get away from a branch falling, trapping it and setting on fire too.
Ember looked down from the air with a proud look on her face and fists at her hips. She looked to see a stern look on Danny's face, surprised how nonchalant he seemed to be. She's never seen him act like this in regards to what's going on.
"You seem… unfazed by this." She points out.
"I heard these things are more like animals. Smart animals, but not exactly people-smart. At this stage, they're not human and there's no going back, right?" He asks.
"Uh… right…" Ember said.
She was used to seeing this from other ghosts, but from Danny, it somehow felt wrong. It was almost as if he's done this before, which she felt was impossible.
The pained howlings continued Danny decided he had enough.
"I think now's a good time." He said, readying an attack with both hands. "Better get that guitar ready."
"R-Right…" Ember said, cranking it to full blast one more time.
Danny fired and Ember struck a chord.
The combined blasts hit their target, causing a large explosion.
Once the smoke and snow cleared, the icy walls were broken down, the trees were no longer on fire, and what looked like body parts turned to dark smoke.
Danny noticed the smoke took the form of a cloud with a pair of red eyes inside, glaring at him.
Danny glared back as Ember darted between him and the cloud a few times.
"Uh… what is that?" She asks.
"I think… it's the spirit or whatever that turned them into this." He theorizes.
The smoke disappeared.
Before Danny could comment, his ghost sense went off again.
He saw two more blue orbs rise from the charred remains of the trees, going up into the heavens before disappearing.
Danny looked up at the sky, wondering what those were again. He then looked down at the ground and landed. Ember followed him.
He examined the area. The putrid stench of the creatures' breaths and their emaciated bodies were gone.
Strangely, he recalled Ember's comment on how unfazed he was. He didn't want to think the last time he fought something not a ghost made him numb to this, he rationalized that these things were mindless monsters now, driven by evil, greed and hunger.
As he sighed, he saw Ember was still present.
''Baby Pop?" She asked.
"So… now what?" Danny asks.
Ember calmly walked slowly to him.
"Now… we talk about us." She said with a smile.
Danny sighed. Even with his attraction to her, he can't exactly trust her, much less bring her back to his family.
"Umm… I don't know… I mean, I admit it. I… am super into you now, but it's not like I love you. That's kind of a leap." He said.
"Who's talking about love?" Ember said as stroked his chin playfully. "I mean a little… pleasure."
Danny looked away.
"Then… I can't… I'm sorry." He said, pulling away.
"Huh?" Ember asks.
"I don't just want… pleasure, Ember. I want more." He said.
Ember blinked.
"Didn't think you of all people would want that. I mean… I think we're both too young, physically for me at least, to do that. Still, soon as you're 18, I wouldn't mind it. We'd have to be somewhere private…" She went, clearly misinterpreting his words.
Danny, turning red, shook his head.
"I meant I want a legit relationship!" He shouted to clarify. "Look, I admit you are hot and part of me probably wouldn't mind us not hitting each other and maybe being more... but I don't see you as girlfriend material. I don't want some fling, I want something serious." He stated.
To his surprise, Ember smiled.
"Wow… despite the interest, you're not going headfirst into dating me. That's a step up from Skulker. Heck, Johnny tried hitting on me as soon as we met. I broke his leg while Kitty gave him a black eye. And Poindexter? Too wimpy to try… Still…" She reached for his face. "I'm liking the challenge here…"
"Challenge?" Danny asks.
"Tell ya what… I promise I won't try and hurt this girl or her pals, if you promise to tell no one about us. You can even leave me out of this part of the recap…" She offered.
Danny's eyebrows raised.
"Uh… are you suggesting I two-time her?" Danny asks.
"Maybe." Ember said as she pulled her hands away and tried to kiss him again.
"Danny Fenton's no cheater." He said seriously, refusing to kiss her.
Ember smiled.
"Fair enough… Danny Fenton's no cheater."
Danny sighed in relief.
"Thank y-"
"Danny Phantom, on the other hand… is a different person as far as the world's concerned." She said, not leaving his personal space.
"W-What?" He asks, sweating.
"Some women can't handle you… some… like me… can." She said, still seductive to him.
He hated how her voice now sounded so nice to him, especially as she used his name.
"I-Interesting…" He went.
"Yeah…" Ember said, hands at her hips.
"Look Ember...I...I don't think-"
Suddenly, Ember grabbed him by the head and kissed him deeply.
Danny tried to pull away, but her grip was strong.
"Mmm…" She moaned into his mouth as she held onto his face.
"Mm-mmm!" Danny went, eyes widened.
"Mmm…" She went as the kissing became open-mouthed and more intimate.
"Mmm… Mm-mmm! Mm-mmm! Mmm…" Danny went as he tried to get her to stop by raising a hand with a finger up.
"Mhmmm…" Ember went, still passionately kissing him.
Danny soon found himself giving up fighting her off and kissed her back. Her hands left his face and went down to wrap around his waist as he held onto her face.
Ember smiled as she felt him give in before they separated.
MUAH!
Ember sighed happily.
Danny smiled before realizing what just happened.
"Oh crud…" He said.
"Well, I guess you can join Batman and Spider-Man in the list of heroes with hot evil girlfriends in black…" Ember jokes with him.
Ember kept her hands near his abdomen as he panicked.
"Uh… nice as that feels, you might wanna stop touching me now…" He said, pulling away.
"So… I guess you'll leave this out, huh?" Ember questioned.
"Okay, are you messing with me, really into me, or some combination of the two?" Danny asks.
"Probably the last one…" Ember said.
Danny gulped.
"Please just don't hurt anyone… and go home now…" He said, walking past her and flying away.
As soon as he was gone, Ember looked over her shoulder with a fascinated and rather infatuated look on her face.
"I guess when I take over the world… I'll need someone to share it with." She said to herself
It seems what she feels is real and she's not letting this new attraction go.
At the same time, two people watched from afar.
Two vaguely humanoid figures in the shadows behind the trees watched from far enough that there's no way they'd be seen or heard.
Meanwhile
Morning arrived. Maddie and Jazz were in the kitchen as Danny retold what had happened. He left out anything involving Ember. Once he was done, Maddie lowered her coffee cup.
"Wendigos, Danny? Are you sure the late nights you've done haven't affected you? Or you've been hit in the head a few times?" She asks, not believing the legend.
"Some of those hits might've been from you." Jazz pointed out as she ate her toast.
Maddie smiled nervously as she hid her displeasure of hearing that by drinking her coffee.
"I don't wanna believe it either, Mom… but I know what I saw. Those things looked the part and had mouths full of ugly, dirty fangs." Danny said as he looked out the window, still with the events he went through in his head.
"So do almost every ghost you've ever dealt with, It's like no dentist has ever died and gone there." Maddie stated as she got up and went to pour more coffee.
"It wasn't just the gross teeth…" Danny said as he walked away, his hand at his chin in thought. "The way they moved, the way they attacked… the look in their eyes. They weren't like anything I've ever seen before. If they weren't Wendigos… they're something close enough." He further elaborates.
Maddie, still unbelieving, finished pouring her coffee.
"Yes, well… before one aspect of the paranormal gets a little too obsessed with another… need I remind you that you kids are meeting with Nat and her friends later." She tells them.
Hearing that, Danny smiled. He decided to put the monsters and what he went through with Ember out of his head.
Outside
Danny wore his jacket, stretched his arms and smiled as he looked to the sun rising over the mountain.
He took steps away from the cabin, looking around the corner to see Nat's cabin.
He smiled, looking forward to seeing her again.
"Well… a beautiful day." He said.
"Especially with what happened last night…" A familiar male voice told him.
Danny's smile dropped. He turned his head to his right and saw someone with their back to him in the trees. He could barely see a fedora and a black jacket.
He realized how this was.
"Rich?" Danny asks.
"So you remember the name I told you to call me…" He said.
Danny looked around, surprised to see him here of all places while nobody else was around.
"When did… how did… why are… what's going on?" Danny asked.
"Been keeping an eye on you since you got here… I know what happened to you last night. My people were watching." Rich said.
Danny's face turned pale.
"Y-You do?" He asks.
"Even about your new evil rock n' roller girlfriend out for world domination when she's not tonguing you." Rich said.
Danny's mouth thinned, his eyes widened, his eyebrows almost flew off his head and his face turned red.
"You saw that…?"
"I did… but don't worry… I'm not racist, I have no issue with interspecies romance or hitting on multiple women at once." Rich said.
"Dude… she is not my girlfriend!" Danny snapped.
"Regardless… at some point, you're going to be looking for the Wendigo, and I'll need your help with something." Rich said.
"Dude, I destroyed three of them last night. If you wanted something, you should have told me sooner." Danny pointed out.
"No… I said THE Wendigo. What you took on were the withered husks of the victims of its curse that you refer to as Wendigos." Rich said.
Danny raised an eyebrow.
"Uh… what?" He asked.
"You'll find a cave, the lair of the Wendigo if you will, and you'll notice something peculiar. You'll know it when you see it… bring me a piece." Rich said.
"What am I? Your delivery guy?" Danny questioned.
"I am the reason you're here, after all…" Rich said.
"Wait… what?" Danny questioned.
"Danny!" Jazz called out.
His attention was taken away as his sisters appeared. He saw Danielle and Jazz in winter gear stepping out.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"We're ready!" Jazz went.
"Okay!" Danny said before turning his head. "What do you mean you're the re-" He stopped upon noticing something.
Rich was gone.
He blinked as he stared at the trees a moment longer.
What the-? Where'd he go? He thought.
He walked towards the tree, looking around. He saw nothing. He didn't even see footprints as the trees blocked any snowfall from reaching the ground. He also realized he never heard a sound to indicate someone walked away.
Jazz and Danielle both shared confused looks as they approached him.
"Danny?" Danielle asks.
He looked at them, wondering if he imagined that or not.
"Did you… see anyone here?" He asks.
"No." They said in unison.
Hearing that, Danny looked to where Rich was in disbelief.
He mentally questioned his sanity as his sisters sent him funny looks.
"What's wrong?" Danielle asks.
"I'll… tell you later. We better meet with Nat." He said.
They walked together, Danny looking over his shoulder, wondering what that was.
New chapter with thanks from Flower Princess11.
A few things to note:
That kiss at the end was based on the kiss between Bruce and Susan in Bruce Almighty.
The Lair of the Wendigo line was intentionally a reference to the Bedtime Stories episode.
You may have noticed the creatures I featured do not feature the modern depiction of the Wendigo, I'm going for a more classic depiction. I will comment on that later.
DemonicCatAngel: It is not.
Luiz4200: They did.
danifan3000: It helps that it's no longer that person, just a beast under another's control.
Themetavoorhes1996: It is not. A few monsters I did consider but it's not on the list.
Invader Johnny: She still is.
pokemon fan 1991: He sure is. And he's only gonna get better, or worse depending on your point of view.
Matt: All the creatures you see are different incarnations of the Wendigo. Some legends depict it as a large sasquatch, and, as said, modern depictions show it with a deer skull for a head.
RonaldM40196867: As we see, she's still too wild and dangerous for him to consider that. 10. Maybe, but humor isn't the main thing here. Probably. Probably not for a long while.
Leonardo: Not sure if he'll develop those powers.
SoundVenom: As we see, she doesn't need to do that to break his resolve, just make him realize how much he likes her kiss.
SuperiorBatman1: Sorry, no songs this time.
